Ireland has quite a good track record when it comes to dogs working with sheep, so, why not push to have sheep dog trials recognised as an Olympic sport?
Sheep dog trialling, in my opinion, is one of the most exciting activities that anyone can watch, wherever it is taking place.
What’s more, it has all the ingredients that the public love: animals working in their natural environment, plus tremendous excitement – both when everything goes right and when the wheels fall off the wagon.
The other option in this regard is horse ploughing. Yes, it is a bit more sedate than having collie dogs explode across our television screens.
Olympic sport
In my opinion, Ireland would be guaranteed a bag full of Olympic medals. We are past masters of this traditional rural activity.
When it comes to activities, Irish farmers would also excel in ‘tyre kicking’, and coming up with projects that include the use of baler twine.
I can think of at least 10 people right now, who could be potential Olympic tyre kicking champions.
These guys come with an almighty impressive pedigree. They are always available to attend open days and farm demonstrations – cadging lifts from neighbours to get there, of course.
They will always be first in line for the tea, coffee and buns that are available on arrival, getting up for that all important second helping as well.
But when it comes to the presentations that have been organised for the occasion that’s in it, these same people will be at the very back of the group, ready to peel off for a bit of private exploration on their own terms.
Getting a bit of a nosey at what’s really taking place on the other man’s farm is what these guys are all about.
Of course, they will have, miraculously, re-joined the other members of the visiting group when it comes to the final ‘vote-of-thanks’, and the bit of a barbeque lunch to follow.
These guys really are ‘uber professionals’, having honed their skills over many years.
Meanwhile, the next sentence constitutes a fundamental statement of fact: Irish agriculture would not survive without baler twine.
It comes in handy when hitching up trousers and keeping overcoat in place on wet, windy days. But, baler twine really comes up trumps when it comes to the re-hanging of gates.
I reckon that at least 50% of the field entrances on Irish farms feature baler twine that has been used to put gates back in place that have fallen down for one reason or another.
What started out as a temporary fix, then became semi-permanent and so on.
Actually, re-attaching the gate properly is one of those jobs that never gets sorted on many Irish farms. That’s because so many of us are that busy tyre kicking down the road.
But to be serious, the real art associated with the use of baler twine is the various knotting systems used by farmers. The complexity of it all is truly mind boggling.
It really is a wonder to behold, and for that reason alone, I would volunteer baler twine knotting as an Olympic sport.